Tourism numbers have fallen – and the average visitor to Ireland is spending less, latest Government figures show, writes Jamie McCarron.

And an industry expert has warned we “could be in deep trouble” as Ireland finds itself at the mercy of the US stock exchange.

Some 654,500 foreign visitors arrived here last month, down 2% from June 2024, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Tourists leaving here last month also spent 5.5% less than they did last June, with a spend of €881.9m.

The typical visitor spent €1,347 last month: €359 on their fare, €51 on prepayments, €447 on accommodation, and €490 on expenses.

Last June, the average spend with fares was €1,437.

However, the average number of nights visitors stayed rose from 7.3 nights to 7.9, an increase of 6%.

TravelExtra.ie’s Eoghan Corry said Trump’s tariffs could pose a problem for our tourism.

“We are heavily dependent on the US stock exchange. The Americans spent a lot of money in Ireland and the ones who were holidaying here in June would have booked the trip a long time ago, before Trump was making tariff threats.

“Americans are very conscious of the stock exchange when it comes to their discretionary spending.

“We are at the mercy of the stock exchange and, God forbid, if anything major happens, tourism could be in deep trouble.”

He also said Ireland isn’t recovering from the pandemic as quickly as other countries.

“The sector has only slowed down a little bit from 2024, but other European countries are seeing their sectors growing, so if the numbers are accurate, we are lagging behind.

“Overall numbers compared to before the pandemic are still 38% down.

“People are staying for more nights, but seem to be spending slightly less.

“These two factors could cancel each other out. Many in the industry would say these figures don’t reflect what they see and that they may be even slightly busier,” he said.

CSO figures show just under 300,000 tourists listed hotels as their main accommodation type, while 210,000 were staying with friends, relatives or in their own property.

The greatest number of visitors last month came from the UK (34%), followed by Europe (31%), US (30%) and the rest of the world (5%).

US visitors rose 5% compared to last year.

UK tourists spent a relatively low amount last month at €118m (18% of expenditure), while continental Europe spent €200m (31%), US spent €283m (44%) and rest of the world spent €47m (7%).